The Korea Grand Music Awards () is an annual South Korean music awards ceremony that honors achievements in various categories of Korean popular music, such as K-pop and trot, domestically and internationally. The awards ceremony was established by Ilgan Sports, who previously created the Golden Disc Awards in 1984 and organized it until 2020, in celebration of the newspaper's 55th anniversary. It was created with the purpose of honoring artists who have played a role in spreading Korean culture around the world and bringing together the past, present, and future artists of Korean popular music. The winners will be selected based on expert judge evaluations, digital music and album sales, and mobile fan voting.
History The first ceremony was held on November 16 to 17, 2024 at the Inspire Arena in Incheon, South Korea. The ceremony's production headed by Han Dong-chul, the CEO of Funky Studio, which created the MAMA Awards. Hanni of NewJeans and Nam Ji-hyun were announced as the hosts for the ceremony's first day, while Winter of Aespa and Nam would be the hosts for the second day. The line-up of artists in attendance consists of NewJeans, Aespa, Ateez, Zerobaseone, NiziU and Taemin among others. It was live streamed via Kiswe. The event was live stream via BLVD United In partnership with Kiswe
Ceremonies Edition Year Date of ceremony City Venue Hosts 1st 2024 November 16–17, 2024 Incheon Inspire Arena Nam Ji-hyun, Hanni, Winter 2nd 2025 November 14–15, 2025 Nam Ji-hyun, Irene, Natty 3rd 2026 November 7–8, 2026 Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome Nam Ji-hyun, Woni, Kim Jae-won, Liz
Award categories Grand prizes The five grand prizes (known as daesang): Grand Artist Grand Honor's Choice Grand Performer Grand Record Grand Song Competitive awards Unless otherwise noted, each award category was introduced in 2024. Best Adult Contemporary Best Artist 10 Best Band Best Group Best Hip-Hop Best Memory Best OST Best R&B Best Rock Ballad Best Solo Artist Best Song 10 Best Stage Popularity awards Unless otherwise noted, each award category was introduced in 2024. Best Popularity Fan Vote Rookie Special awards Unless otherwise noted, each award category was introduced in 2024. Best Producer Best Selling Album IS Rising Star IS Rookies K-pop Global Artist K-pop Global Rookies K-pop Legendary Artist Most Streamed Song Photogenic
Most wins The following artists received three or more awards: Rank Artist(s) Awards 1 Lee Chan-won 9 2 Aespa 6 Stray Kids 3 Ateez 4 Ive Riize 4 Day6 3 Taemin Young Tak D.O.NewJeans Seventeen Unis
References
External links Korea Grand Music Awards official website Korea Grand Music Awards official live streaming website